Contents
Xu Beihong
Reinvigorating Chinese painting through powerful ink horses and Western-trained observation.
Tian Heng and His Five Hundred Followers · The Foolish Old Man Removes the Mountains
- Born
- 19 July 1895
- Birthplace
- Yixing, China
- Died
- 26 September 1953
More people
Xu Beihong
Xu Beihong was a Chinese painter and educator. He advocated drawing from life and combined Chinese ink traditions with the anatomy and realism he studied in Europe.
Early life
First teacher
Learned Chinese classics and painting from his father.
European study
Used a government scholarship to study drawing and oil painting in France.
Career
- 1910s
Early teaching
Worked in Shanghai and taught in Beijing.
- 1919–1927
European training
Studied and travelled across Europe.
- 1927–1953
Artist and educator
Returned to China and trained generations of painters.
- 1949
Academy leadership
Became the first president of the Central Academy of Fine Arts.
Selected work
Tian Heng and His Five Hundred Followers
Large-scale historical oil painting.
The Foolish Old Man Removes the Mountains
A monumental treatment of a Chinese fable.
Galloping horses
Ink paintings expressing movement through decisive brushwork.
Beyond art
Family archive
His family preserved paintings and documentation of his life.
Public legacy
A memorial museum opened in Beijing after his death.
Sources & photo credit
Life, career and references ↗Biography and contributions ↗Photo: See source. Public domain · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
